Shed hunting: Secrets of the Masters

An in-depth review of shed hunting. Shed hunting: Secrets of the Masters thegearhunt.com

Shed hunting grows in popularity in the springtime, when the shed deer antlers are easiest to find. Shed hunting is closely connected to the breeding season of the whitetail deer. It starts in January or February depending on the area that you are located in, and it lasts for 28 days. It results with the male deer losing their antlers by the force of nature. This is a natural process which is happening because of the dropping of the testosterone levels in the male whitetail deer. At the beginning of the spring, they will grow new ones.

shed deer

Although this process is very fascinating in the wild, what happens with the shed antlers in our world is also alluring. Hunters are looking for ways to increase their shed hunting success because the request for shed antlers is increasing every year. People are increasing their interest in decorating their homes with antler chandeliers. In this article, we will provide all the shed hunters with secrets and tactics which every shed master is using in order to find more whitetail deer antlers.

Look In the Bedding and Feeding Areas

Since we know how and when deer are more likely to lose their antlers, it is safe to assume that you should focus your shed hunting on that area. In this case, since they are losing their sheds in the late winter, it is understandable that you should check their bedding and feeding areas. With this being the case, start from the food sources in the area and locating them and discover the bedding areas around it. You should take your time detecting the feeding areas; look into the trails and track them back to the beds. Deer are survivors and they know their way through the forest. However, they do have some habit limitations fortunately which make their tracking much easier. They could be usually found on the south on the edge of the forest facing slopes. Their behavior is due to the fact that in the winter they are looking for more sunlight. For this reason, focus on the southern edges of the forest for finding the bedding areas.

shed deer

Technology Could Have a Great Impact on Your Success

As a shed hunter, you should be equipped with a high-quality technology that will enable you to find sheds easier and faster. Part of the required technology is nice quality optics. Although the nice old primal technique of shed hunting with your own vision and senses has nothing wrong with it, if you can get help on the subject, why wouldn’t you? In this case, a high-quality pair of binoculars could assist you in scanning the fields faster and much more effectively. You would be able to extend your vision range, therefore the probability of finding sheds is increasing. As you already know, if you find one shed, it is very likely that a matching one would be in the area. A nice pair of binoculars will help you do this with much less effort.

Trail cameras are another way to go. They are the last word of the technology when it comes to shed hunting and they could be of great assistance during the season. Trail cameras are a great way for you to observe nature without affecting it. This means that you could find out exactly when the shedding starts and begin your hunting during the appropriate time. This is of great significance since if you start earlier, you will push the deer away and the area that you are planning on hunting will be shed free. Since this is not the ultimate goal, putting trail cameras and checking them from time to time will let you know everything there is to know. When you will start noticing deer without their sheds on your cameras, which would be your sign to start preparing for the shed hunting season.

shed deer

Grid Searches for a Group of Shed Hunters

If you have fellow shed hunters, organize them and do a simple grid search. Although grid searches are usually the last technique shed hunters are applying, if everything else fails, this would be your next step. Organize them to walk parallel to one another and scatter the whole area. If some of you have a dog that could help out with the hunt, chances are that no shed antler will be able to escape your eye. If you choose to apply this technique, make sure you initially cover the dropping spots with higher probability and after that, take the roads less traveled.

Keeping a shed hunting journal is also a good idea. It will help you locate the beddings in the area and it will let you know where you find most of your shed antlers. This will also be useful for the following shed hunting season. Keep in mind though, that every season the behavior of deer is slightly changing. As we are keeping up to date and learning their habits, they are also learning to avoid us hunters.

shed deer

For some people, deer season never ends. There are closing season dates, but the hunt still goes on for few of them. Shed hunting however, is the next best thing. It is a highly addictive activity which is like gold searching for hunters. Although the shed antlers are a great price to your effort, you are also learning a great deal about the behavior of the deer while shed hunting. It will help you stay in shape and put yourself in an envious position of success for the season to come.

Hopefully, this article helped you in getting a better understanding of the shed hunting tactics and secrets. If you are a novice shed hunter, you would get inspired and hopefully we gave you something to look forward to. The spring is bringing wonderful weather and for those of you who decided to apply these techniques, hopefully a successful shed hunting season as well!

If you have any questions or you would like to add some of your shed hunting techniques, we are always looking forward to further discussing the subject with you. Have a great shed hunting season everyone, great as the spring weather!